It has previously been proposed to use a reciprocating mechanism to move clothes hangers along a supporting member, and one disclosure of such an arrangement is included in G. H. Begent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,788,885, granted Apr. 16, 1957. In the Begent patent, depending fingers engage clothes hangers which are supported on a lower member, and the depending fingers are pivotally mounted on a reciprocating cable so that the fingers intermittently move the hangers forward, and then tilt as the cable moves backward to slide over one hanger and to pick up the next successive spaced hanger, being moved along the assembly.
One serious problem with the Begent conveyor is that, once the installation is made, it is no longer possible to use the clothes hanger support for general storage purposes, and in the conduct of a normal commercial business, this is frequently necessary. Thus, when everything is going entirely according to the basic plans, and the clothes which have been dry cleaned are moving along the conveyor in a uniform spaced manner, the system disclosed in the prior patent operates in the intended manner. However, if it is desired to use the clothes support associated with the conveyor for general storage purposes, or if clothes are to be slid in a direction opposite to the normal movement of the conveyor system, this is impossible once the system of the prior patent is installed. In addition, in the event that a hanger or other object should become stuck, or if the conveyor becomes clogged with hangers, the mechanism of Begent could easily be damaged as the depending fingers encounter obstacles.
Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a product support arrangement which may be normally employed in its conveyor mode of operation, but which also includes flexibility so that it may be used for general purpose storage and the movement of the product in either direction when the need arises.